Nikki Bella on last-minute switch for Clash in Paris title bout

Nikki Bella said her title match with Becky Lynch at WWE Clash in Paris this past Sunday was a last-minute change to the card, and she described competing before a record crowd in Paris as a dream despite the loss. Speaking on her podcast, The Nikki Brie Show, Bella said the bout for Lynch’s Women’s Intercontinental Championship had originally been scheduled for an episode of Raw but was shifted to the premium live event after WWE altered the lineup following Naomi’s pregnancy announcement.

Bella said she learned of the switch about a week before the show and decided not to return to the United States between appearances in Birmingham and Paris, so she could acclimate and prepare without suffering jet lag. “So from Birmingham until I arrived in Paris, I didn’t go home,” she said, explaining the travel and preparation tradeoffs. She added that she was uncertain how the original Clash in Paris card was constructed, but believed it had been slated to include only one women’s match, Naomi versus Stephanie Vaquer.

When Naomi’s match was scrapped, WWE booked other contenders for the vacant Women’s World Championship. Reports say Vaquer will now face IYO SKY at WrestlePalooza on...